Day 3. 14th September, 2009.

We had weighed several options. We had thought about Sach Pass and Chamba. Ruled that out since it would pose the same problems as the route going to Kaza and Chandrataal… too much of snow and landslides! We ruled out going to Leh as well, (yes we had the time to make a quick dash) since vehicles had stopped coming back that very day! And even if we made it, and it snowed more, we would be stuck! Vivek dialed a few numbers. That reminded me of the Hitchcock movie “Dial M for Murder”! All high-altitude passes and off-roading routes seemed closed due to landslides. That is when we decided to try the Jalori Pass! Another chance we were taking…

The early morning blues were washed away with Nitin getting his oil changed in his Zma yet again. He had a HH authorized oil change less than 800 kms ago and he was already low on oil level… too low for comfort for the kind of riding we were doing!

We moved to Aut, crossed the 3 kilometre long tunnel, turned left for Jalori Pass. We stopped at a village for lunch (Nitin was hungry of course). We had been riding for nearly 2 hours! At that village, the name escapes me, after several inquiries, we were informed that Jalori Pass was closed as well due to landslides and not a single mode of transport had come down from there in the past 4 days! Now I was getting really irritated. The chance we took did not pay off.

Here Vivek advised us that we move towards Shimla and continue testing our offroading capabilities on the tracks available in and around that region. There are several off-road tracks used by the Shimla Motorcycle Challenge organizers. This sounded like a viable option.

The rest of the afternoon and early evening was a mad rush to Shimla on some lovely tarmac and very curvy roads. At one point, Vivek tells us… “Please keep a distance behind me, I am going to crash!!!” Excuse me! Both Nitin and I were stunned. “Actually, I am going to push the bike to see at what point it can crash!” We were gaping. Nitin, the competent MBA that he is and in marketing, tried convincing Vivek that this was not a very good idea. But Vivek was sold. And for the next two hours, it was “Game catch-up Vivek” on some delicious tarmac.

Most of the time it was Vivek leading, unless he let us, Nitin and I, the young babies of the canyon scratching world trying to develop some techniques. And Nitin as usual would be all over my back and would scream past me in a hollering of honking like a bully hooligan showing off his cornering skills and then shut out my path! But then he got subdued the moment he perceived Vivek in his RVM catching up fast. ☺ The road from Bilaspur to Shimla is worth the tarmac for cornering with practically no traffic!

That night at Shimla we stayed at the HPTDC Holiday Home Hotel, which is also the official hotel for the Raid de Himalaya. I had a tough time sleeping that night with Nitin and Vivek snoring in tandem!

Day4. 15th September.YouTube - Jakho Tibba 1, Off-roading in Shimla!

Vivek did not want to take the risk of doing the above stunt with his injured back. Aneesh took the TTR and climbed the same rock face: YouTube - Aneesh takes the TTR on Jakho Tibba
As you can see, the TTR does it almost effortlessly!

Nitin tries to climb the rock face with his Zma... fails in his first attempt!
YouTube - Nitin's first failed attempt!

After that failure, Aneesh instructs Nitin:
YouTube - Instructions By Aneesh to Nitin

Nitin gets it right in the 2nd attempt:
YouTube - Nitin gets it right in the 2nd attempt
Nitin is the team's star rider and we are proud of him!

I refused to do the climb. I was terrified out of my wits with such antics. Aneesh takes the 220 up the same slope... easy stuff for him... 220 Fi, with the setup... it was a breeze for him:
YouTube - aneesh climbs Jakho Tibba with the 220

The climb gets steeper and steeper and Nitin tries to get his bike up near impossible climbs:
YouTube - Nitin at an impossible climb!

Not one to give up at all, Nitin continues in his efforts to get his bike up that particular place where his wheel is spinning like a ceiling fan!
YouTube - Nitin Continues to try that climb

Aneesh attempts the same incline with the TTR
YouTube - Aneesh attempts the incline on the TTR

Time for some photographs now:

Aneesh; our great host


Altitude




Aneesh, our preferred biker from Himachal


The Challenger


Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown...


All Challenges Welcome!


Best of rivals and best of friends


Aneesh is a dreamer...


After spending some time on Jakho Tibba discussing love, motorcycles and thums up... and jumping off cliffs on a motorcycle and a parachute over chips and mountain dew... it was time to get down! We had not thought about it before. And we had to get down the same rock face. With my bike, the 220, it was a different issue altogether since it had no more rear brakes. It had to be taken down a different path! Here are some more videos of how the team got their bikes down the rock face, this time coming down, more dangerous than going up... as usual!

Aneesh comes down
YouTube - Aneesh comes down the rock face!

Nitin comes down as well, not easy...
YouTube - Nitin down the rock face too!

Looking at those videos, I feel like going back there again... trying to climb the rock face... on my bike... going to Jakho Tibba once more... and talk about Love, Motorcycles and heartbreaks!

That will be all for today.

superb..

videos are good.. and nice write up..
I think the 220 rear brake is not so good at all..( as i have also exp. it quite a lot ). and the task that u ppl are performing will obviously degrade its level to 0 ....

As always great writeup....
Is it over or do we still have more of the trips?

I have no problems with the 220 rear brake. I got new disc pads that evening and everything was back to normal and I was racing the other three on the SMC tracks... but that is for later! This was my first rear wheel pad change in 14000 kms.

More than the pictures, I loved the text; especially that last paragraph, and the finishing lines. REALLY felt each word.

Thanks for sharing it all.

I am glad there are still some literate people alive. People who still know how to read! Unfortunately, most others have forgotten how to read or have never learn't. It sure is a pity.

hmm....nearly the same
i have a "RALCO" 90/90-17 front which looks just like this and i have a CEAT Vertigo 120/80-17 up rear.
BTW... did the ceat skid up on tarmac with a bit of moisture on it??? coz mine does and it gets kinda scary but is thrilling too

Can you show us a photograph of your front tyre? No, mine does not skid at all, if you know how to read... I assumed you do, on the first post, on Day1, I rode for some 300 kms in the rains with tyres that were not broken in! I have written about the kind of problems that I faced with the new setup. Try reading sometime, maybe you will understand what I am trying to say.

thats kool.. but i have changed my disc pads twice in 8000KM.. and still i am not so comfortable with the rear brake behaviour.... i hope it gets better..

no no no.....you didnt get what i was trying to say
mine is like 10000 kms old tire but as it is not driven outside city roads except when i visit my farmhouse and barring an occasional burnout here and there, has not been abused, so has retained a lot of its tread.......so i guess it is not that good a time to ask this question.....ya i'l post up a pic of my front tire.....as soon as i get my cellphones back(repairing....rode out in heavy rains today)
also, they work like a charm during the rains or heavy downpours, can confidently ride fast, but what i meant was like if there is some slush on the road.......coz mine skids over there

People lets read and try not to get Ken da angry

nice text and videos ken . are you gonna keep the 220 for off roading permanently or will you put back the fairing and all after some time ?

Give some some more time, a couple of months to be precise, I surely will I am very much eager

There is still some more to come.

I am not much bothered about rear brake behaviour since I almost never use them except on dirt where I used them extensively.

Slush on tarmac is dangerous and it is fun! But you have to be really carefully. But the tyre will grip if the slush is deep enough. That is even more fun. As long as you hold your front end steady, it really does not matter what the rear does! You will be fine.

I have absolutely no intention currently of putting the fairing back on. But yes, I do want to change the tyre setup back to street in a short while. I want to preserve these tyres for long offroading trips!

This is end-September, couple of months makes it end November. Will be waiting to see you then!

Day5 16th Sept.-09.Mashobra-Baikalti stage of the SMC



Some videos of that day from that 34 kilometre ride:

Nitin trying the TTR on one of the stages of the SMC

YouTube - Nitin on TTR!

The Pulsar 220 and the TTR 250

YouTube - Pulsar 220 vs TTR 250

Nitin on the TTR on the way back and the P220 gives chase

YouTube - Nitin on TTR Vdo2

Day 6; 17th September, 2009.

Early morning departure planned. But man proposes, Providence disposes. We started with my rear wheel flat. At 7 in the morning, there was nothing available anywhere to inflate my tyres. I had tubeless rears. All I needed was an air compressor. I rode on for nearly 20 kilometres sitting on the tank for not putting pressure on the rear tyre. I rode on gradually at 21-23 kmph! It got tiring. It is not much fun riding sitting on the Pulsar tank for 20 odd kilometres at 21kmph! Finally Vivek had an idea. He decided to fill my tyre with a can of compressed slime. It worked very well for me and I managed to ride without any problems for the rest of my ride.

Inflating my tyre with slime





On our way back, we had decided NOTLeave the highway and this is what you get



This has also been part of the SMC I think.



TTR with a flatConcluded.